This Sunday, Pope Francis’ visit to a U.S. prison will put a spotlight on the men and women who are incarcerated in our nation. But if that spotlight does not extend to another unique event the same day, we will miss the opportunity to explore the long-lasting legacy of incarceration that haunts individuals after they serve their sentences.

On Sept. 27, the pope concludes his six-day visit to the U.S. by visiting men and women incarcerated at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility in Philadelphia. In doing so, the Pope will focus the world’s attention on the criminal justice crisis that continues to plague America — where more people are behind bars than in any other industrialized nation.

“Over the last decades,” the Pope has said, “a conviction has spread that through public punishment the most disparate social problems can be resolved, as if for the most diverse illnesses the very same medicine is recommended.”

Increasingly this uniform response to crime has led to a system heavy on punishment and light on fairness, mercy and second chances.

A historic effort that symbolizes another approach will be on display the same day, in the other side of the country. In South Los Angeles this Sunday, a first-of-its-kind event will allow thousands of people with past felony convictions to remove those from their records, opening doors that have previously been shut because of those old offenses.

In California, there are 4,800 restrictions written into state law for people with a criminal record. More than half (58 percent) restrict employment, and 73 percent are lifetime bans.

Thanks to Proposition 47, passed overwhelmingly by California voters last November, people convicted of six low-level, non-violent felonies now have the opportunity to petition the courts to reduce those felonies to misdemeanors, immediately making them eligible for job opportunities, housing and other benefits that can help people looking to put past mistakes behind them get a fresh start.

More than 1 million people across California are estimated to be eligible to change their records under Prop. 47, including 300,000 in Los Angeles alone. As of May, more than 160,000 petitions for such changes have been filed in California.

Making sure that as many people as possible who are eligible for Prop. 47 relief file applications is key not just for maintaining a society that is just and merciful, but it is also essential for public safety.

When we make it difficult for people to successfully re-enter society upon release from prison or jail (by blocking their ability to get a job, stable housing or the financial aid necessary to go to college), we trap people in cycles of poverty, hopelessness and crime.

That’s a morally bankrupt approach that does nothing to keep our communities healthy and safe.

The Catholic Church in California joined with other faith leaders, law enforcement officials, crime victims and a diverse array of Californians in supporting Prop. 47 because we knew there was a better way. We knew that it is essential to our collective life together to emphasize a restorative brand of justice that brings healing to crime victims and their loved ones, while at the same time providing opportunities for rehabilitation for those who have committed crimes and have been incarcerated.

That new and better way forward will be on full display Sunday in Los Angeles when dozens of pro bono attorneys will work with thousands of people who have paid their debt to society yet still must carry the stigma of a felony conviction everywhere they go. And it will be on display in Philadelphia, when Pope Francis breaks bread with folks who remain imprisoned.

In both places, the pope’s oft-repeated mantra that “God is in everyone’s life” will become a lived reality. Our leaders should take note of this wisdom — and the power of forgiveness and restoration.

Chaplain Javier Stauring is the co-director of the Office of Restorative Justice at the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

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